The Apponyi Castle of Lengyel Traditional Geocache
The Apponyi Castle of Lengyel
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A geoláda a geocaching.hu oldalon GCLGYL név alatt szerepel. Ne feledkezz el az ott szükséges jelszóról! This cache is also available on geocaching.hu as GCLGYL.
Lengyel
Lengyel is a small Schwabisch village of 545 inhabitants that was owned by the enlightened Count Apponyi family for about 130 years, from 1799 to 1926. Their lives and activities played a great role in the development of the village and the lives of its citizens. Besides the church, the small castle, the Swiss style dairy farm, the school, and the wine cellar, the most important still existing Apponyi building is the castle surrounded by the 22 ha park.
Getting in
The castle park can be visited every day, free of charge. One can even enter by car during office hours through the west gate. The small, north pedestrian gate is always open, but, please, do not upset the life of this small settlement with a night visit!
History of the Castle
Lengyel and the surrounding area was purchased by Count Antal György Apponyi in 1799. Soon he built a small castle. It is an interesting trivia that Count Sándor Apponyi opened a kindergarten in this building in 1871 and (with a small pause at the beginning of the 20th century), it has served as such ever since.
After Antal György Apponyi's death the huge property including several villages were divided by his three sons. Lengyel and its surroundings were given to Count József Apponyi who held a high position in the Viennese Court. Between 1824-1829 he built the very elegant castle in Classical style that this cache intends to show you.
As it was fashionable in those days, the castle represented a year: it had four gates representing the seasons, 12 chimneys for the 12 months, 52 rooms for the weeks, and 365 windows for each day of the year. Later modifications did not take these into account, so don't be disappointed if you count the windows and don't get the right number!
There was a large chapel as part of the castle that served the whole village until the church was built in the center of Lengyel.
József Apponyi had only one daughter, so because of that he gave his real estate to his two nephews, Counts Gyula and Rudolf Apponyi upon his death and left cache to the daughter.
Rudolf, who served as a diplomat in Paris, took over the Lengyel property with the intention of retiring there in his old age. He decorated the castle in Renaissance style and had grand plans about its remodeling. He passed away in 1876, so these could not happen.
After Rudolf's death his son, also a diplomat, Count Sándor Apponyi inherited the property. He resign from his position and moved to Lengyel with his widowed mother and soon married Countess Alexandra Esterházy. In 1878 the young couple started an extensive remodeling, now in Historical style.
On a January 19th, 1905, the roof of the castle burnt down. Several pieces of very valuable furniture kept in the attic were destroyed.
The rebuilding was directed by Sándor Fellner, an architect from Budapest. This is when the castle got its current design enriched in Eclectic style.
Sándor Apponyi died at age 81, in 1925. In his last will he left the castle to his wife. Earlier he gave his extremely valuable collection of old books, incunabula, and etchings to the National Library. His 15 000 books are not only valuable because of their age, but even more because of being a collection of Hungarian related books published abroad from very early on. It would be impossible to put such a collection together again. This is the most valuable gift the National Library's Printed Matter Department has ever received.
Sándor Appony's widow shared her late husband's values. As they had no children, she give her whole property: all the farmland, the castle, and everything in it to the Hungarian National Museum in 1926, but kept the privilege to live in the castle until her death (1930). Later all her belongings were transported to Budapest and auctioned off in 1934. Between the two wars, during the economic crisis, the museum and libraries had a huge lack of cache, this is why this happened.
From this time on, the castle was empty, there were even plans made to demolish it. But the second world war changed that. The huge, empty building away from Budapest became an asset. In order to avoid damage from bombing all maps front he National Cartography Office were moved here for safekeeping. 20 railway cars full!
It was not a bad idea. The maps nearly survived the war. Unfortunately, from January to March 1945, a Russian Army Hospital was established in the castle. During the cold winter months, the crates storing the maps and some of the maps were burned for heating.
At the beginning of the following year, in 1946, the castle was used as an internment camp for the innocent German people living in the area. After they were forced to leave Hungary, in the fall of 1946, an agricultural school was established in the building and that is what has been in there ever since.
The Castle Park
The castle park was established at the time of the construction of the castle. It was design by Sedlmayer, a landscaper from Vienna.
In 1870 Rudolf Apponyi had it enlarged to 22 ha (54 acres).
Both in the history of the castle and the park, the largest modifications happened during the ownership of Sándor Apponyi. He not only extended the variety of plants, but also had statues and fountains, and a small watertower erected. Unfortunately, most of the statues and fountains are long gone, but the interesting water tower and an obelisk are still there.
In front of the north facade of the castle Sándor Apponyi's bronze statue by Pál Farkas was erected in 2001.
The castle park has been a nature reserve since 1975. After being neglected for a long time the Frech style frontcourt has been renovated by the turn of the century and the rehabilitation of the English style park is also on its way. The old evergreens are the most eye catching: the 30-36 m tall sequoias, a Douglas fir, spruces, white pines, thujas and yews. Among the old solitaire deciduous trees the oaks, lindens, maples, and plane trees are noteworthy. During the spring the magnolias are picturesque.
The birdlife of the park is rich, a good mirror of the bird fauna of the neighboring hills. Spring visitors are greeted not only by the beauty of the surroundings, but also by fresh air and singing birds. In the summer sitting on a bench under a huge trees is very pleasant. In the fall the cavalcade of colors, and on a snowy winter day the peace and quiet makes this place so special.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
FGHPX